Solid oxide fuel cell with an anode incorporating a BaCe0.8Y0.2O3-α proton conductor

Abstract

A new type of anode incorporating the proton conductor BaCe0.8Y0.2O3-α (BCY) was fabricated and proposed for a high-power solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). The most striking feature of these anodes was that the power density of the SOFC with an anode consisting of 50% Ni, 35% Gd2O3-doped CeO2, and 15% BCY was almost twice that of the SOFC with an anode of 50% Ni and 50% GDC. Thermal desorption spectroscopy revealed that a large amount of hydrogen was adsorbed on the surface of the BCY particles, and the adsorption energy decreased when the BCY particles were in contact with the nickel particles. Consequently, the BCY particles were thought to play an important role in the enhancement of the adsorbed hydrogen supply via the anodic reaction around the triple phase boundary.

Keywords

• solid oxide fuel cell
• proton conductor
• anode
• hydrogen adsorption
• reaction enhancement